District 19

Vallone Secures Nearly $19 Million for Northeast Queens Improvements

City Hall – On Wednesday, the New York City Council passed a budget of $92.8 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. For a sixth straight year, Council Member Paul Vallone set funding records, securing nearly $19 million for Northeast Queens by working with City Council Speaker Cory Johnson, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and the Queens Delegation of New York City Council Members.

In Vallone’s six years in the City Council, he has secured over $100 million in funding, a number that eclipses two decades of city budgets for the same district before he was elected to office.

“For a sixth straight year, I am proud to report record-setting funding for Northeast Queens,” said Council Member Paul Vallone. “These budget victories would not have been possible without close work and collaboration with our City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, and I thank them for their ongoing partnership. This year, our Northeast Queens communities can continue standing tall knowing that their needs and priorities are finally being met by the City.”

In total, Council Member Vallone has secured over $6 million for his district’s schools and nearly $5 million for parks. Vallone is proud to announce that every school within the district will receive at least $35,000 to fund important technology upgrades. Council Member Vallone’s budget also provides significant improvements to our parks, with nearly $3 million going to needed lighting installations at College Point Park. This is in addition to the over $7 million previously allocated in partnership with the Mayor’s office to construct brand new athletic fields at this location.

Vallone will provide over $1 million to support nonprofits exclusively in his district, such as Alley Pond Environmental Center, HANAC, Selfhelp Community Services, and the New York Junior Tennis League. Funding allocations will also allow the continuation of the Senior Transportation Program and Annual Independence Day Fireworks Show. Also increased were the amount of schools that will receive Cultural After-School Adventure (CASA) programming, which provides cultural experiences for students by partnering with local nonprofits including Inside Broadway, Marquis Studios and the Queens Museum of Art. These increases will allow Council Member Vallone expand the number of schools receiving a CASA grant to 17. Capital funding has also been allocated to allow for the purchase of tree guards for the district.

This year’s Participatory Budgeting process was another success, with Vallone’s district once again receiving the most votes of any district in New York City. Council Member Vallone is also announcing that he will fund a number of other top projects on the ballot as selected by the community, including a Portable S.T.E.M. Lab at M.S. 67 and over $300,000 in technology upgrades at local libraries. This is in addition to the top three winning projects, which include NYPD security cameras, a gymnasium renovation for P.S. 129, and a Green Biome for Bayside High School, and brings the total amount of funding allocated to participatory budgeting to $1.9 million.

“Investing in the future of our schools, parks, and libraries and ensuring sustained quality of life for the families who call Auburndale, Bay Terrace, Bayside, Beechhurst, College Point, Douglaston, Flushing, Little Neck, Malba and Whitestone home are top priority,” said Council Member Vallone. “This year’s budget marks another clear victory for our community, and I look forward to celebrating our district’s bright future at the Independence Day Celebration at Fort Totten!”